Top 10 reasons to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 6 General Election

1. Vote because today we can vote. Your vote will honor the hundreds of African-Americans who toiled and protested to help pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act when they began the five-day, 51-mile walk, against law enforcement resistance on Bloody Sunday, from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Honor their pain and resilience and take a few minutes to vote in this election.

2. Vote to honor the millions of African-Americans who could not vote because unjust laws required that they either recite parts of the U.S. Constitution, or pay a voting poll tax, or they had to provide proof that they owned land. We can vote today because of their struggle yesterday.

3. Vote in this election because today we stand on the shoulders of those who were beaten, lynched, and killed; for the African-Americans who faced burning KKK crosses; for the churches which were bombed just because activists tried to change unjust voting laws. Rosa Parks tried to register three times because of these unjust laws.

4. Election Day is the one day that every American is, in theory, equal. We can all vote, if you are registered and if you take the time.

5. Have you noticed that complaining about the criminal justice system with your friends and family has not really changed anything? Vote in this election to ensure that your judiciary is reflective of your community.

7. Super Voters (people who vote in every election — primary and general elections) have a major influence on who wins elections. Super Voters are usually older adults, more educated, white, and earn more than $50,000 a year. Become a Super Voter today. Ensure that your voter registration is updated, identify your precinct, review your sample ballot, educate yourself on the candidates and issues, by absentee ballot, vote early or vote on election day.

8. If not now, when? If not you, who?

9. Florida’s purging of the voters’ rolls, legislation which decreases the number of voting days, and the reading level of the constitutional amendments are all designed to make voting difficult for some people. Voting in this election is victory over those hostile forces!

10. We as taxpayers are paying millions of dollars to host this election — no matter how many people vote.

Dr. Marcia Magnus is founder and chairperson of the Caribbean-American Politically Active Citizens. She may be reached at: CaribbeanAmericanVoter@aol.com